Klass, Philip J. (1920–2005)

American aviation journalist who, in the 1970s, became the foremost critic
of ufology, taking over that mantle from Donald Menzel.1
Klass was born in Des Moines and raised in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After graduating
from Iowa State University, he worked for a decade at General Electric as
an electrical engineer. He joined Aviation Week in 1952 and later
wrote extensively about surveillance satellites for that publication. He
was a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and
a founder of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of
the Paranormal (CSICOP).

Klass's first UFO investigation, in 1966, was of the Socorro
Incident, a sighting reported two years earlier in New Mexico. He concluded
that it had been a hoax perpetrated in an attempt to bring tourism to the
economically depressed town. Klass went on to write seven books, including
the well-regarded UFOs Explained (1975). He was interviewed on
news broadcasts that included the "CBS Evening News" and for TV programs
devoted to space phenomena. Klass was reviled as a "disinformer" by ufologists,
particularly those who insisted they had been abducted for scientific testing.